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Hapkido History |
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Yong-Sool Choi (1904-1986), one of the most influential people in the development of modern Korean martial arts, was born in Chung Buk province in Korea. Choi's parents died when he was very young, and when he was eight or nine years old he was taken to Japan from Korea by a Japanese candymaker. Choi eventually became very homesick and was ultimately abandoned by the candymaker. He began to wander the streets as a beggar and was regularly assulted by other children. A Japanese man took notice of Choi because of the unique situation he is in - being so young and having to beg for food and money. This man took Choi in and eventually adoped him. Before the adoptive father sent Choi to school to get an education, his name was changed to Tatujutu Yoshida. The attempt at education was not a successful one because Yoshida (Choi) did not speak enough Japanese to understand the teachers. He became disinterested in school work and often wound up in fights with the other school-children. Consequently, he was asked if he wanted to get a regular education or learn to fight. He chose fighting, and was enrolled in a Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jutsu (pronounced Dae-Dong-Ryu Hap-Ki-Sool in Korean) dojo with Sokaku Takeda (1860-1943), where he trained for almost 30 years. Sensing that Japan was loosing WWII, Yoshida (Choi) began to make plans to return home to Korea -- and did so in the winter of 1945. Upon his return home, he changed his name back to Yong-Sool Choi. Somehow during the trip home, Choi lost a piece of his luggage, which unfortunately contained his money and the certificates which were proof of his training with Takeda Sensei. Because of a lack of money, choi decided to stay in Tae Gu rather than to return to his home in Chung-Buk. After a year of working as a bread salesman on the street, Choi managed to save enough money to begin raising pigs. In order to feed his pigs, he would get up early every morning and travel to the Suh Brewery Company to obtain free leftover grain chaff. In 1947, Bok-Sub Suh, who was a black belt in Yudo and the president of the Suh Brewery Company, witnessed a fight from his second floor office window, where he watched in amazement as one man defended himself against several attackers, with little effort. He was very impressed and curious about what he had observed and sent his office clerk to bring this man to his office. The man turned out to be Yong-Sool Choi. Suh asked Choi what kind of martial arts he practiced. Without really answering the question, he asked Suh to grab him by the lapel. When Suh grabbed the lapel, Choi easily executed an elbow lock and threw Suh to the floor. Suh immediately grabbed Choi's lapel again, and he was simply thrown to the floor a second time. After being defeated twice, Suh begged for Choi to teach him, promising him more free chaff, as well as paying him money for lessons. When Choi agreed, Suh prepared a dojang at the brewery where Choi then had the opportunity to teach what he had studied for so many years in Japan. It was during the next few years that Choi would begin to establish himself as an outstanding and well respected martial arts instructor. He called his art Yoo Sool (Korean pronunciation of Ju-Jutsu). A few minor modifications were made, but for the most part, he was teaching exactly what he had learned from Takeda Sensei. He did, however, slowly begin to add techniques, including some kicks and weapon techniques. In 1954, Bok-Sub Suh was involved in an incident where he defended his father, Dong-Jin Suh, who was up for election to the National Assembly. A fight ensued against a few gangsters, and using kicks learned through his training in Yoo Sool, Suh defeated the gangsters. After some thought, Suh decided to suggest to Choi that the name Yoo Sool be changed to Yoo Kwon Sool, to represent the fact that besides joint locks and throwing techniques, they were also practicing strikes and kicks. After the end of the Korean war, while Choi was still teaching Bok-Sub Suh, he opened his own provate school at his house and began to teach a few other students. This was in 1953. Some of the students during this period had already founded, or have gone on to found their own martial art styles. These include, Hwang-Kee (Tang-Soo-Do), In-Hyuk Suh (Kuk Sool Won), Dr. Joo-Bang Lee (Hwa Rang Do), and Han-Jae Ji (Hapkido).
Ji, Han-Jae Han-Jae Ji was born in 1936 in Angong, Korea. He bagan his martial arts training in Yoo Sool with Choi in 1949 at the age of 13. He trained full time with Choi until 1956 when he moved back to his home city of Andong from Seoul. When Ji was just eighteen, he began to train with a man who he refers to as Taoist Lee. Taoist Lee, trained Han-Jae Ji primarily in various methods of meditation, and in the use of the Jang-Bong (6' staff), the Dan-Bong (short stick), and in Korean Taek-Kyun kicking. During the same period, a lady monk known to Ji only as "grandma" taught him spritual power for almost five years. In Andong, Han-Jae Ji, then a 3rd degree, opened his first dojang which he called An Moo Kwan and began to teach Yoo Kwon Sool. After apporximately nine months in Andong, Ji decided to relocate to Seoul in September of 1957. He stayed in a boarding house in Wang Shim Ri. The son of the owner of the boarding house, Duk-Kyu Hwang, became his first deciple at his new dojang, called Sung Moo Kwan. Ji was also able to open an additional small dojang at a neck-tie factory where he had only a few students. These students were mainly from Han Yang University. Eventually, Ji's skills and teaching became even better and he decided to move to a more suitable location. He rented a room from a man named Bong-Ah Ko, a local boxing instructor, and for the first time had access to a regular mat where he could conduct his classes. In 1958, Ji moved his school to Joong Boo Shi Jang where he continued teaching until April of 1960. It was during this period when Ji began to piece together the Yoo Sool (Yoo Kwon Sool) teachings of Grandmaster Choi, with the methods of meditation, the Taek-Kyun kicking techniques, and the weapons techniques learned from Taoist Lee, along with the spiritual training he received from "grandma," to formulate his own style of martial art, for which he chose the name "Hapkido." he had originally thought of calling it "Hapki-Yoo-Kwon-Sool," but decided against that, feeling it was too long of a name. He thought of other martial arts he had heard of, such as Tae-Kwon-Do, Kong-Soo-Do, Soo-Bak-Do, etc., where the word 'do' was being used instead of 'sool'. He liked this idea because the word 'do' means a path to follow, or a way of life, rather than simply meaning 'technique', as 'sool' implies. The name hapkido was chosen in 1959, and has been used ever since. The word itself can be translated as the "way of coordinated power." Where "hap" means to unify or coordinate, "ki" means mental and/or physical energy, and "do" means a way of life, or the 'path' or 'way' of coordinating your mental and physical energy into one entity. During a conversation I had with (Grandmaster) Han-Jae Ji, in his personal suite after the first day of a grueling seminar, it was related to me that after he chose the name Hapkido to represent his art, he gave this name to his teacher, Yong-Sool Choi to use - out of respect. Choi taught under the name Hapkido until his death in 1986, even though he did not teach the complete curriculum -- leaving out the majority of the kicking techniques, and a lot of the weapons techniques. The actual hapkido curriculum was not finalized until the early 1960's after a fellow student of Grandmaster Choi's, Moo-Woong Kim, moved to Seoul to visit and study with his friend Han-Jae Ji. He stayed for approximately eight months, during which he practiced with Ji, and gave his input and advice regarding which kicking techniques should be adopted (Kim also had previous Taek-Kyun training). The only significant difference that evolved from this collaboration was that Ji taught that a low spinning kick be done with only the ball of the supporting foot touching the ground; whereas, Kim teaches that the knee and foot are both on the ground while the kick is executed. In May of 1961, the Korean government was overthrown by General Chung-Hee Park (1917-1979), an action which ultimately resulted in his being elected President. In 1962, Ji moved to Kwan Chul Dong, in a space in back of the Hwa Shin Department Store. By this time, he had built his Sung Moo Kwan school up, and it was financially strong. With assistance from Major Dong-Nam Lee, Ji was given permission to instruct the Military Supreme Council in Hapkido techniques. Ji then received a government job teaching Hapkido to the Presidential Security forces (a position he would hold until Park's death in 1979). During this time, he moved his school to Suh Dae Moon (West Gate section), which he felt would give him greater exposure to the public. In the early 1960's, Chung-Hee Park lifted import restrictions banning Japanese goods from Korea, after which, Ji came across a book on Japanese Aikido. Ji saw that the Japanese characters for Aikido were the same as for Hapkido. Discouraged that a Japanese art had the "same name" as Hapkido, he decided to drop the "Hap" from it's name, calling his art simply, "Kido." On September 2, 1963, the Korean government finally granted a Charter through the Ministry of Education to the Korea Kido Association. They were granted the right to supervise and regulate the standards of teaching as well as promotion requirements of Black Belts in thirty-one different Korean martial arts. The first chariman of the Korea Kido Association was Yong-Sool Choi. The Association tried to promote martial arts to public school students, police officers, and to military officials. In 1965, Han-Jae Ji left the Korea Kido Association and established the Korea Hapkido Association. There were several reasons for this. First, the Korea Kido Association appointed Jung-Yoon Kim as Secretary-general. Kim, who was a university graduate, dominated the policies of the Association, and Ji did not like this situation. Second, the students that were trained in Sung Moo Kwan under the name Hapkido, did not like the new term, "Kido." They continued to call their martial art Hapkido, and continued to teach it the way they learned it. The students did not feel that it mattered that a Japanese art had the same name. And lastly, Han-Jae Ji was appointed Chief Hapkido Instructor for the President's Security Forces and had become a powerful person. This power translated into the ability to successfully operate his own organization without help from others who were being less than ethical in their lives as martial artists. Three dominant Hapkido organizations began to immerge during the next few years. These included the Korea Hapkido Association (founded in 1965 by Han-Jae Ji), the Korea Hapki Association (founded in 1969 by Jae-Nam Myung), and the Korean Hapkido Association (founded in 1971 by Moo-Woong Kim). Eventually, in 1973, the leaders of these organizations met and agreed to unify their associations as one. The new association was named Dae Han Min Kuk Hapkido Hyub Hwe (Republic of Korea Hapkido Association). In 1984, Grandmaster Han-Jae Ji moved to the United States and founded Sin Moo Hapkido. That same year, Grandmaster Moo-Woong Kim resigned from the Republic of Korea Hapkido Association, and founded the International Hapki Federation. Grandmaster Se-Lim Oh became the president of the Republic of Korea Hapkido Association, and late in 1984, he renamed it the Korea Hapkido Association (the name Ji had used in the 60's). Today there are still three dominant Hapkido organizations in Korea. These include, the Korea Kido Association (In-Sun Seo, Pres.), the Korea Hapkido Association (Se-Lim Oh, Pres.), and the International Hapki Federation (Moo-Woong Kim, Pres.). The Korea Hapkido Association is still the leader in Korea, and the graduates of the Sung Moo Kwan make up the majority of it's instructors.
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